Manacled Dominatrix
by Pyeknu
Summary: Side-story to "Saga of Coyote and the Tempest." Three months before Redet Lum's life was changed when Moroboshi Ataru was forced to reveal a secret to her, Regina Morrow - heartbroken by Bruce Patman leaving her for Amy Sutton - learns a shocking secret about her peers the HARD way . . . by becoming a Yizibajohei! What did Molly Hecht do to her . . . and what is Molly's secret?
1. The Mistress of Pain and Pleasure

One spring evening in southern California . . .

"Just a sec' . . .!" a slurred voice called out from behind the door of the family home on Redwood Drive in the Los Brisos neighbourhood of Sweet Valley. The door then was unlocked and opened, revealing a pretty seventeen year-old girl of average height with silver-blonde hair and green eyes. The slight flush on her cheeks indicated she had definitely drunk something that was normally illegal for someone her age to consume outside one's house. "Yes?" she asked before blinking as her eyes took in the handsome features of the man before her before she grinned. "Hey! Regina's bro, right?"

"Yes!" Nicholas Morrow stated, the urgency of the moment making him shake more than he really wanted to, especially given that he had been operating for the last couple of hours on pure adrenaline, fearful for his sister's safety. "Where's my sister?"

A smirk. "She's out past her bedtime?" Molly Hecht coyly asked before she waved him inside. "C'mon in. She's crashed out in my bedroom. Hey, Sergeant O'Riley! Sergeant Henderson! C'mon in, guys! Nothing really illegal happening here!"

"We'll be the judge of that, Miss Hecht," Jim O'Riley stated as he and his partner came into the house, beckoning Nicholas in with them. "Could you take us to Regina?"

"Sure! This way!"

Walking into the quaint home – which wasn't anything like the beautiful middle-class homes he knew about and worlds below his family's own mansion near the domiciles of the Patmans and the Fowlers – Nicholas was struck by the eerie silence that seemed to hang over the living room at this time. Oh, sure, there was loud music playing and there was quite the crowd of people here, but all of them were mostly either asleep or doing things that – while not blatantly sexual – was making the elder son of Sweet Valley's third-richest family blush. "Don't mind my friends," Molly said as she made her way to the stairs leading to the upper floor, the sway in her movements clearly indicative of her current level of intoxication. "They won't hurt you. Up here."

They soon were in a rather nice if cluttered bedroom where a smiling girl Molly's age was lying on the bed, fast asleep. Sitting next to her, holding her hand, was Jan Brown. Standing by the window looking out into the evening sky over the former fish-canning town on the Santa Barbara coast was Tina Adams. Noting the presence of the other girls, O'Riley exchanged a knowing look with Mike Henderson. The three girls in the bedroom with the sleeping Regina Morrow were known victims of a drug dealer now attending Sweet Valley College, Buzz Jackson; all the police departments in Santa Barbara County were working together to snare him once and for all. If he _had_ been here . . .?

"Regina!" Nicholas gasped.

The sleeping girl's dark blue eyes fluttered. "Huh . . .?" she moaned out before she slowly turned to gaze at the hazy image now before her. An image that slowly cleared up. "Nicholas . . .?" she moaned out. "Where am I . . .?"

"You passed out after drinking a beer, Regina," Jan calmly stated before she gave the girl's brother a smile. "Hate to say it, friend, but she's got a real low tolerance for alcohol. Lucky thing we got her up here to sleep it off. Here to take her home?"

Nicholas blinked, and then he nodded. "Guess I got worried for nothing."

"Hey, chill!" Tina said as she gazed at him. "Not your fault that your sis was feeling down in the dumps because that asshole Patman dumped her for _Amy Sutton_ of all people!"

"Believe me, I wish I had a nice big bro' like you looking out for me," Molly added. "All I've got is my little bro'." She waved to the doorway, where her younger brother Tyrone – "Ty" to all his friends – was now standing. "But he does his best."

Ty grinned as Nicholas found himself smirking. Even the two police officers – who had been quick to smell the cigarettes and alcohol in the air – smiled on hearing that. "We heard rumours that Buzz Jackson was going to come here," O'Riley stated.

The three girls perked. On the bed, Regina also blinked as her hazed mind picked up the name. "Buzz?" Tina asked. "Haven't seen him for a couple months. Jan? Moll?"

"Haven't seen him at all, Officer," Jan stated as Molly shook her head.

"Not me!" Ty added.

The police officers hummed. They didn't really believe the girls . . . but there had been no signs of cocaine or any other illicit drugs when they had walked into the house. Atop that, they didn't have a search warrant and there seemed to be no real cause to get one from the local judge. While it WAS illegal to purchase alcohol in California by anyone below age 21, private consumption in a house was not outlawed for young adults . . . and there hadn't been a single kid in sight below Ty's age. A quick look around the living room showed there were people who were holding back, no doubt to be designated drivers. While the hostess of the party and her friends in the bedroom were some of Buzz Jackson's victims, they had acted quite responsibly in getting Regina into bed so she could sleep it off. Well, perhaps sometime in the future . . .

"Well, if you do, call us," O'Riley said. "And make sure that everyone can get home without causing accidents. Mr. Morrow, if you want to help your sister . . .?"

"Um, sure," Nicholas said . . .

* * *

A half-hour later . . .

"Fuck! Who the hell brought that rich girl here?"

"Justin did," Molly said. She was alone in the kitchen with Jan and Tina; the party had petered out after Regina's brother and the police had come to rescue her. Ty was off escorting some of his friends back to their houses; he would return in a bit. "He and Regina got close after she realised Patman was two-timing her with Sutton. No doubt, he wanted to be a knight in shining armour and protect me from Buzz's sinful delights." A chuckle. "Much that I appreciate his concern . . . "

"Ditto here," Jan said as she lit a cigarette and took a deep draw of the soothing fumes. "She is a pretty sweet girl, isn't she?" As Tina and Molly gazed on her, the hard-looking tomboy with the dark hair and the cold blue eyes smirked. "Hey! Just because I have to act as Miss Bad Bitch of the Drug Scene doesn't mean I can't sense what sort of girl Regina really is!" A smirk. "What did she become?"

Molly smiled. "Manacle."

The other girls – who had also got their Gifts the same time as Molly did two years before thanks to a wandering man their age from Japan named Moroboshi Ataru – oohed. "Oh! It's _**Superfuzz**_!" Tina then gasped. "She's gonna arrest us!"

The other girls laughed. "Well, it's good that she did get a Gift," Jan noted. "I've told you about all the girls I've sensed might have met Ataru before."

"But you don't have proof," Molly noted.

"Not really," Jan affirmed with a nod. "But some things are somewhat obvious."

"The Wakefield twins," Tina noted. "Definitely them."

"Fowler," Molly mused.

"Definitely Sutton and Walker, too," Jan proposed.

"Maybe Pearce," Tina said.

"Probably Egbert," Molly then added.

The others gave her strange looks. "Moll! This is ATARU we're talking about here!" Jan stated. "There's only been TWO guys he's helped over the last ten years! One's in Japan and the other's in England! Egbert lives here in California!"

"He was one of the original Boosters," Tina noted.

The other girls blinked, and then they nodded. Playing the game of _**Who's got a Gift?**_ was fun for the three girls. Since the man who was the current incarnation of the Trickster of the Great Show of Life was notoriously tight-lipped when it came to revealing who was also in the Book of Pretty Girls – that he had called Molly, Jan and Tina "pretty" when he had first met them two years before (and had MEANT it!) was something that still filled their hearts with a special sort of warmth – knowing who might also be a metahuman possessing powers bestowed on them by the Great Crystal of Yiziba was next to impossible save for when random chance came into play.

None of them had been invited to participate in the Mother of All Fight Scenes a month before that had ended up DESTROYING a whole Niphentaxian colony . . .

. . . and LIBERATING an entire RACE of BIOROIDS from slavery.

From what had been leaked over the private intranet used by the over thousand Terrans-turned-Yizibajohei by the Mistress of Communications, _**Nexus**_, it had been wild.

Then again, unlike some of the others Ataru had helped over the years, girls like Molly Hecht, Jan Brown and Tina Adams were known to be "bad babes."

If _**they**_ had been involved in fighting the Niphentaxians . . .!

"Hey, Molly!"

Molly looked over as Ty came in. "Yeah, Ty?"

"What are you going to do about Buzz?" the younger boy asked.

Molly blinked, and then she sighed. When she had teleported herself to Yiziba with a dying Regina Morrow in her arms to get her to the Cave of the Future, Jan had used her powers to freeze time in place. After Molly got back with the then-Gifted Regina, she put Buzz into the storage room in the basement. Jan and Tina then took the chance to clean up and get rid of the drugs and everything else that might have really made life difficult for their friend when the fuzz and Regina's overprotective brother came charging in. "Sunnydale?" she proposed to her friends.

"The vamps'll eat him alive," Jan noted.

"If they don't get _stoned_ first," Tina mused.

The others blinked, and then they laughed . . .

* * *

_**Manacled Dominatrix  
**_A side-story to _The Saga of Coyote and the Tempest_  
by Fred Herriot

Based on _Sweet Valley High_, created by Francine Pascal; and _Urusei Yatsura_, created by Takahashi Rumiko

Including characters and situations based on _Mahō Sensei Negima_, created by Akamatsu Ken; _Azumanga Daiō_, created by Azuma Kiyohiko; the _Harry Potter _series, created by Joanna K. Rowling; and _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, created by Joss Wheaton

* * *

_**WRITER'S INTRODUCTION:**__ This story is a side story to _The Saga of Coyote and the Tempest_, explaining what happened when Regina Morrow was Gifted with the abilities of the Queen of Traps, __**Manacle**__, thanks to the help of Molly Hecht (who is the current incarnation of the Mistress of Pain and Pleasure, the __**Dominatrix**__). In _Sweet Valley High_ chronology, this story is set near the end of novel #40, _On the Edge_. In _Urusei Yatsura_ terms, this story is set three months after the first movie,_ Only You_, and three months before the fifth movie_, The Final Chapter_. In _Harry Potter_ reality, this is set during the latter part of the sixth novel,_ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_ . . . though events in that universe happened differently than what Mrs. Rowling wrote. In _Buffy_ reality, it's the first season of the television series; I'm not familiar with the series as I've only seen one episode, so I won't say more. For those who didn't have family names or given names introduced in _SVH_, the names given here are my invention._

_It is advised to read the main story before reading this story to make sure that people can understand the background situation that lead to the events depicted here. I will do my best to describe things as best as possible to avoid any questions, but I don't want to repeat word-for-word what I wrote in _The Saga of Coyote and the Tempest.

_All writer's notes are contained at the end of each part. There will also be entries of _The Book of Pretty Girls_ in this story as well after the writer's notes._

* * *

Sweet Valley High School, the next morning . . .

"So Regina passed out after drinking _one beer_?"

Nicholas nodded, flustering in embarrassment. "Yeah. Molly had her moved into her bedroom to sleep it off; she and her friends Jan and Tina were watching over her when we got there. The officers helped me get her home and decided to write off the whole thing about driving without a license and speeding since I was so worried about her."

Hearing that, Elizabeth Wakefield could only smile as she relaxed herself at her work desk in the offices of the school newspaper, _The Oracle_. "Well, that's a good thing. What about Justin Belson? He was dating Molly. Did they get back together?"

A shake of the head. "No. But I don't want Regina hanging around him anymore," he stated. As Elizabeth gave him a knowing look, he blushed. "I mean, I'm glad she's getting over what happened between her and Patman, but still . . . "

"I think she wanted to help Justin get over his own problems, Nicholas," Elizabeth stated. "It helped her try to get past what happened between her and Bruce."

"Yeah, true."

"So where is she now?"

"She's sick," he answered. "We took her to the hospital first thing when she started throwing up after waking up this morning, but when the doctor looked her over, he couldn't find anything bad inside her. Probably a reaction to the beer she had."

She nodded in turn. "Well, maybe it'll teach her to be more careful in the future."

A laugh. "True . . . "

A knock echoed at the door. "Hey!" a voice called out.

Nicholas and Elizabeth looked over, and then both smiled on seeing the woman standing at the doorway. "Hey, Molly!" the former called out as Molly Hecht walked into the office. "Thanks for what you did last night with Regina."

"Hey! No problem at all," Molly stated. She was Elizabeth's height, but there was a dynamic vitality to her that seemed to burn from every point on her skin. "She was feeling a little low about what that two-timing womaniser Patman was doing with that slut Sutton and she drifted together with Justin over the last bit." As Elizabeth frowned on hearing such vulgar language from the other girl – even if the elder Wakefield twin and Amy Sutton had drifted apart since the latter had moved with her family to Connecticut five years before, Elizabeth did still think of Amy as a friend – Molly added, "I didn't like that; we were dating for some time before his family's problems got in the way." _And I met Ataru and got my Gift_, she mentally added. "But I'm not one to get in the way of a friendship." She tapped Nicholas with her fist, which made him yelp as he moved to rub his sore arm. "So stop acting like an overprotective jerk, okay? Your sister's way too sheltered, you know! You're lucky that Buzz _**wasn't**_ there last night with all his stuff! If he was . . .!"

Nicholas winced. "Yeah! Yeah! I get it! I get it!"

Elizabeth giggled as her would-be boyfriend – Nicholas Morrow had tried to move in on the elder Wakefield twin when the Morrow family had moved into the Valley a few months before – began to chat away with her sister's rescuer. _Why on Earth didn't I notice Molly before?_ she then wondered to herself. _Even if she hails from the same type of rough crowds Betsy and Tricia normally deal with, she seems pretty okay . . .!_

A knock at the door. "Excuse me?"

Everyone turned . . . and then Elizabeth smiled. "C'mon in!" she said as a girl who looked like an older, brown-haired Amy Sutton walked into the room. "Molly, this is Mimi Sutton. She's a junior at Sweet Valley College; she wants to be a social worker."

"I remember her! Hey, Mims!" Molly said as she took the other woman's hand in her own. "Here to apologise on your cousin's behalf for breaking Regina's heart?"

Mimi chuckled. "There are days I do wonder about Amy," she noted before nodding to the others in the room. "Anyhow, I came here to pass on the word about an old 'friend' of yours: Buzz Jackson. They found him dead in Sunnydale just before breakfast."

Molly blinked as Elizabeth winced. "So the vamps got to him, huh?" the former mused nonchalantly. "Hope they didn't get stoned on his blood when they drank it all."

Nicholas gaped. "_Vampires_?"

"Well, what else would you call 'em?" she mused. "All the people dyin' in that town for the last few years, all the blood drained out of 'em . . .!" A shake of the head. "I know it hasn't hit CNN, but I hear stuff all the time. What else could it be?"

He blinked, and then nodded. "Well – even if he did die – he won't bothering you or Jan or Tina anymore," Mimi then said as she smiled. "You can rest easy now."

"I'll pass it on," Molly noted . . .

* * *

Some minutes later . . .

"You appear to be someone who has the weight of the world on her mind!"

Elizabeth blinked before she gazed up at the man who had said that, and then she smirked. "I must have drifted off," she admitted as Winston Egbert sat down across from her. "Glad I have only three classes today. I'm a little distracted."

"Because of Regina," the resident clown of Class 11-B mused.

"You've heard?"

"Very little happens in this town without my finding out about it within an hour or so, Liz," Winston stated as his dark brown eyes twinkled with amusement. Save for the glasses, the curly hair and his being Caucasian in lieu of Oriental, Winston could easily be Moroboshi Ataru's twin brother. Both had the same sort of casual attitude towards the outside world and both loved to make others laugh when they could. Of course, Ataru had been literally Gifted with that power when he was six, so he had grown up with the ability and had used it quite well over the following ten years. Winston's ability had been natural from the start; his Gift – he was the Master of Technological Magic, _**Lightmage**_ – just gave him the power to make whatever jokes or pranks he played on others all the more spectacular. "Regina's Gifted."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"Molly?" Elizabeth gasped.

"I don't know exactly what she is, but I've an idea," Winston admitted; Elizabeth didn't have to confirm that he had magically sealed the office and put a notice-me-not charm on the door to ensure they enjoyed some privacy. "Ditto with either Tina Adams or Jan Brown. Possibly both of them, but I can't be sure." He sighed. "My ward alarms picked up someone teleporting from here to Yiziba about ten o'clock last night using one of your predecessor's PAAs." The Personal Administrative Assistants were meson-augmented mini-computers the size of an iPhone which – amongst other things – could teleport someone the distance between Earth and Yiziba in seconds. "Just as Nick Morrow and two police officers got to the Hecht home. From where the teleport happened and to where the return teleport came." As she nodded – Elizabeth knew there were many spare PAAs around for people to use to make the three hundred light-year journey from Earth to Yiziba and back again without her being directly alerted to it – he added, "There was also a time-stop bubble there. Made a side-time deviation of about twenty minutes. Enough time to clean up the mess and make sure no one raised a stink when O'Riley and Henderson went in there with Nick to get Regina out."

She nodded. Winston had got his Gift at the same time as the Wakefield twins and a whole slew of others; all of them formed the "Boosters of Sweet Valley" – the nickname for the group of metahumans that called the former fish-canning town northwest of Los Angeles on the Santa Barbara coast their home had been taken from the cheerleading squad of Sweet Valley Elementary School – back when they were in Grade 6. While he was not in the main list of the Book of Pretty Girls – as the title denoted, only GIRLS were in Ataru's special book though he had made two exceptions with two badly abused boys over the years – the Master of Techno-Magic was in the Annex list, indexed under Jessica's entry (which annoyed the hell out of Elizabeth's twin sister every time she was made to think about it). "So what do you think Molly and her friends are?"

"Well, let's look at the evidence," he proposed. "Late last night, someone flies from the Valley to Hellmouth Central and dumps a body there. This morning, Amy's cousin comes in with the news that Buzz Jackson's now _sans_ any blood in his _corpus_. A girl who was one of his prior customers then openly speaks about vampires in this very office. Whoever did the flying last night had the classic FISS-type powers, Liz."

"And is clearly a heel-type by the fact that Molly did know about the vampires . . . and possibly did drop the late and unlamented Mister Jackson there to become a midnight snack for one of the resident un-dead population in Sunnydale," she finished, nodding in understanding. "There are some who could fit what Molly could have become. Did you track Ataru's movements in the Valley anytime after he came by to help us all get our Gifts?"

A shake of the head. "Me? Track _**Coyote**_? Get serious, Liz!"

Both of them laughed; Ataru could be as stealthy as any of his ninja ancestors if the mood ever struck him. A pity the idiots in Tomobiki hadn't come to realise what was now living in their midst. "So who could she be . . .?" she then trilled. "Certainly not the Violator. That one's more a psionic than a FISS-type. An empathic vampire deep down. While feeding a drug dealer to REAL vampires is rather ironic . . . "

"I was thinking more of the lines of the Dominatrix."

Elizabeth blinked. "Possibility . . . " she then breathed out. "But what about Regina?"

"Can't tell right now," Winston stated. "But I do have wards monitoring her place. The instant she's up and showing something odd, I'll know about it."

"Tell me right away."

He nodded . . .

* * *

Lunchtime . . .

"Hey, Molly!"

Molly perked on hearing that voice, and then she looked over. "Justin!"

Justin Belson smiled as he came up to slide into the chair next to her. Molly had been relaxing with Jan and Tina when the former's ex-boyfriend had appeared. "Hey, sorry about last night," he then apologised. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Chill, man," Jan said as she made a dismissive wave. "We know the score. Heard about Buzz?" As he perked, she smiled. "He became vamp food in the 'Dale."

Justin gaped. As Molly had told Mimi earlier in the day, all the weird things that had rocked nearby Sunnydale – located west of Sweet Valley near the southern perimeter of Vandenburg Air Force Base off Cojo Bay – hadn't been important enough to make CNN Headline News . . . but word had got out on the streets that said town was NOT a safe place to be, especially at nights. "Damn!" he breathed out. "I mean . . .!"

"Yeah, he didn't deserve to get all his blood drained out . . . but people didn't deserve to get hooked on the shit he was selling," Tina noted.

"Yeah, you got that right," Molly noted. "Glad we got off that stuff."

Justin blinked. "But he was there at the party! I remember seeing him!" he stated.

"Yeah, he was there," Molly stated nonchalantly. "Didn't stick around long."

"True. Probably felt he could make a score in the 'Dale," Tina mused.

"Someone sure made a score on him," Jan then lamented.

The three girls mirthlessly chuckled before turning back to their lunches. Watching them, Justin blinked as he tried to recall what had happened the previous night. Yes, he had gone there with Regina Morrow to make sure Molly – whom he still saw as a friend even if they weren't dating anymore – would be safe from the real bad crowd that she had been associating with since she entered junior high school in the wake of her parents' separating and her father's effectively remaining in San Francisco while her mother remained in the Valley. And yeah, it had been pretty bad; by the time Justin and Regina had come in, the booze was flowing freely.

Shortly after that, Buzz arrived . . . and then . . . then . . .!

What HAD happened?

* * *

Watching the lone man with them now, Molly and her friends tried not to smile on seeing the lost look on Justin's face. Realising that he was trying to recall events from the previous night at the Hecht home, the girls exchanged brief glances before turning to their meals to finish up before they would head off to afternoon classes.

It was necessary, of course. After Ataru had helped the three girls get their Gifts, they had banded together to try to help others like them get away from the many sinful delights people like Buzz Jackson always was ready to sell to the unsuspecting. To ensure people didn't come to not trust three girls who had got clean in the literal blink of an eye, Molly, Jan and Tina often used special meson-augmented synthetic concoctions created by one of the previous Academicians to simulate being either drunk or stoned when it was required. With that, they could still hang out with people they liked and cared for . . . and could be there to help someone when said someone needed that sort of help.

Just like what had happened to Regina Morrow the previous night.

As soon as the girl had taken in her second line of cocaine and started to turn VERY grey as she began to hyperventilate and complain of chest pains, Jan had used her powers as _**Pentagram**_ – she was one of the minor mages of the Shadow Realm; unlike others, Jan didn't have a cool nickname – to literally freeze everyone in place. Tina – as _**Ruby Slippers**_, another Shadow Realm mage who could use her powers to lock in on people's deepest desires – then probed into Regina's soul to keep her alive and well. Molly raced into her bedroom to get out one of the PAAs she had found shortly after she had become the _**Dominatrix**_, then came back, grabbed Regina, and teleported off Earth to get the suffering girl to the Cave of the Future to save her life.

Minutes later – in the time-stop bubble Jan had created; in "real" time, it had only been seconds – Molly came back with an alive and sleeping Regina in her arms, still in civilian clothing but wearing the special wrist-bracelet Terrans-turned-Yizibajohei often wore to ensure they could switch into battle-suits when required. After putting Regina into bed, the three girls then quickly got rid of the drugs Buzz had brought to the party. Molly stashed Buzz himself in the basement storage room while Jan and Tina made everyone else forget what had happened when Regina had taken her first line of cocaine . . . and then the time-stop bubble was collapsed and everything went back to normal.

Ten seconds later, the police were knocking at the front door.

And while Molly was feeling a twinge of concern over what had happened when she carried Regina to Yiziba – despite the synthetic nature of the drinks and drugs she had taken to make herself "normal" to the others, they had intoxicated her since everything was ruby meson-based and keyed to her own DNA, thus allowing the "drinks" and "drugs" she ingested to actually affect her as if she was still a norm – it was a good thing. After all, if Ataru himself had been involved, he would have got Regina to Yiziba to help her recover from what had happened – Jan herself was planning to magically examine a sample of Regina's DNA to find out what exactly had caused such an ugly reaction in her to just TWO lines of cocaine! – and most likely offered to help her get a Gift himself.

What was seriously wrong with _**that**_?

* * *

The Morrow home, after school . . .

Regina's eyes snapped open.

"«Where am I . . .?»"

She then stopped as her mind caught up with her mouth.

What had she just said?

Wait! She wondered where she was . . .

But the words spoken had not been in _English_!

Then . . .?

Taking a moment to look around the familiar contours of her bedroom, she then blinked as she moved to sit up, looking down at herself. Noting she was in her nightgown – When had she got dressed in THIS flimsy thing? – she then moved to stretch herself . . . and then she stopped on noting the bracelet wrapped around her left wrist.

_A storage bracelet for her battle-suit?_

She then blinked as confusion overwhelmed her for a moment.

"_**What battle-suit?**_"

A knock then echoed from the door. "Miss Regina?" a voice called out.

Regina looked over . . . and then her hand came up, the fingers twisting . . .

. . . as the door handle was pushed down to unlatch the door, allowing it to open . . .

"Miss Regina . . .?"

Gasping on seeing that the door had opened – and that NO PHYSICAL HAND had moved to open said door! – Regina then blinked comically as one of the servants moved to look in, surprise etched on her face . . . which then turned to confusion on noting that the young mistress of the household was in her bed. Which was TEN FEET AWAY from the DOOR!

"Miss Regina . . .!"

"Excuse me!"

The maid perked on hearing that . . .

. . . and then seemed to look lost for a moment before she walked away from the door, allowing a lanky man in a black uniform with weird glyphs over it to peek inside.

On seeing him, Regina gaped. "Winston . . .?"

The man born Winston Egbert smiled. "Welcome back, Lady Manacle."

She blinked several times . . .

* * *

Minutes later . . .

"I'm a MUTANT?"

Hearing that classic comic book term, both Elizabeth – who was dressed in the up-to-date uniform of the Great Sage of the Circle of Thought, the _**Academician**_ – and Winston winced . . . before both exchanged a look and laughed. "Sorry about that, Regina," the former then said. "But that term is – to borrow Jessica's word for it . . . "

"Way too retro for us," the latter finished for his friend. "For someone like one of the X-Men or a Slayer, the term we use is 'naturally-gifted meta.' People like Spider-man or any of the Fantastic Four are 'fate-gifted metas.' And folks like us . . . "

"Are just Gifted. With a capital 'G.'"

Regina – who had been shown how to activate her storage bracelet to drape herself in the dark grey old-style jumpsuit with the black handcuff insignia of the Queen of Traps, _**Manacle**_ – blinked before she scowled for a second, and then she nodded. "Yeah . . . but aren't we just Yizibajohei?" she asked. "We're all Terrans . . . "

"Thank the man who helped us get our Gifts: Tuyuki," Elizabeth stated. "Or 'Coyote' as he calls himself now. His real name is Moroboshi Ataru; he's the fellow from Japan who's made the news over the last three months about that close encounter of the third kind with the Urusians nine months ago." As Regina nodded – the dropping of the news blackout around the Tōkyō suburb of Tomobiki three months before had caused a world-wide furor, especially given what had happened in the "world oil-theft" incident right after Moroboshi Ataru had defeated Redet Lum and wound up engaged to marry her – the elder Wakefield twin added, "When he got his Gift thanks to one of the Nameless, Mistress Ayone Katabarbe, Ataru decided he would 'share the wealth' with every pretty girl he could find. In doing so, he would make sure that if there ever WAS an alien invasion of Earth, we could respond with the Mother of All Fight Scenes."

The daughter of Kurt and Skye Morrow nodded in understanding. She could now recall what those strange words and terms Elizabeth had said actually meant. "I dreamt of the Dawn of Power when I slept; that's why I was sick this morning," she then admitted. "I was a peace officer in one of the central continent nations back then. We weren't like the dictatorships and monarchies on the other continents where your first-selves arose." She gave her visitors knowing looks. As they nodded in understanding, she said, "Before all the local governments disintegrated and the Show was started in earnest, I was the only thing keeping those who had survived the upheavals and all the fighting – they became the first generation of the Nameless in my homeland – alive and well."

"I remember that," Elizabeth stated. "In fact, I believe my first-self wanted to invite your first-self into the Circle of Thought."

Regina's cheeks reddened. "You're kidding me . . . "

She then gasped as a haunting aria echoed through the air. As Regina looked around for the source of that noise, Elizabeth moaned. "Winston!"

"Sorry," he said with a knowing smirk. "But when you guys start talking about ancient history, I always think about that particular music from _Star Trek_."

The girls gaped at him, and then they laughed. As the music finally faded, Regina then sighed. "Molly did this to me, didn't she?" she then asked.

"We think so," Elizabeth stated. "We didn't know she was Gifted herself."

"What is she?"

"We don't know, but we think she's the Dominatrix," Winston answered. "Unlike our past-selves back on Yiziba, we tend to stay separate from each other. We don't know who everyone is. Ataru won't tell us who other people are without their permission; he's always respected people's privacies over that matter. Most of us in the Valley who are Gifted belong to an unofficial 'team' we call the 'Boosters;' that was the nickname of our elementary school cheerleading team when we met Ataru."

"And you were the only guy in the group," Elizabeth noted. "Even if others like Todd and Bill got their Gifts that day as well."

A laugh. "Yeah, that's true." He then sighed. "What happened last night, Regina? Was Buzz Jackson there? Did you actually try out some of his stuff?"

Regina blinked, and then she nodded. "Yeah. I mean . . . " A shake of the head. "It was _**so**_ different from what I'm used to. The smoking, the drinking, the . . . " A grimace. "Drugs." As the others nodded, she then smirked. "I wanted to get out of there. But I wanted to help Justin get Molly out of that mess. Things happened and I was urged to give some cocaine a try." A weak smile. "I didn't want to look like a total coward in front of them, so . . . " A smirk. "I inhaled."

The others laughed. "Well, at that moment, I started to have some really bad chest pains," Regina added. "And – I think this is what happened – when Molly and her friends realised what was going on, Jan . . . " A sigh. "She did something. And everyone just froze in place. Except Jan, Molly and Tina. I felt . . . something reach into me to ease the pain. Molly ran up to her bedroom and came back down with something in her hand." Her eyes then narrowed. "Her clothes had changed . . . "

"What?" Elizabeth urged.

"Black vest, skin-tight leather pants and white boots."

"The Dominatrix," Winston confirmed.

Regina nodded; she did recall such a person on Yiziba. A classic "heel" that had all the standard FISS powers . . . but such powers could increase exponentially if s/he was hurt in any way, shape or form to make him/her as strong as the mightiest of all the physical powerhouses that lived on that world. And because of a burning NEED to feel that rush, the Dominatrix (or the "Dominator" if the one so Gifted was a man) would provoke fight scenes with anyone that crossed his/her path. That such a being lived in such a quiet town as Sweet Valley these days boggled her mind; if Molly Hecht was strongly provoked, she could unleash devastation which would make the strategic bombing of Germany and Japan by the Allies in World War Two COMBINED look like a garden tea party. _Why the hell haven't we heard of people Gifted from Yiziba going crazy before now?_ she wondered before taking a deep breath. "She saved my life."

"Most likely," Elizabeth stated. "I noted there was a genetic defect in your DNA that was provoked by the drugs your mother took that made you deaf." As Regina gaped at her, the elder Wakefield twin blushed. "I'm sorry, Regina, but even if we don't do flashy things like you'd read in comic books, we do our best to protect people in town. Part of what I do is to make sure that if there are serious medical emergencies . . . "

"You need to know how to heal them," Regina finished, and then she gazed knowingly at Winston. "You put up some magical wards around my house to keep an eye on me."

"I did," he admitted. "And I apologise for that. But I take the same view as Liz does when it comes to protecting this town. You'll probably sense a magical ward around Sunnydale to the west of here. That was my doing; the place is a Hellmouth – as the magicals call it – and loads of vampires live there. My wards keeps them there to ensure they don't get out and start turning people elsewhere."

Their hostess nodded; as Manacle, Regina was a psychokinetic who could use her mind to literally restrain anyone she encountered. She would be sensitive to odd shifts of natural psionic energy fields. Magic provoked such shifts, so Winston's warning was courteous. "So can I be part of this Boosters team of yours?" she then asked before pointing to Elizabeth's clothes. "And can I switch my uniform to something like that?"

Both of her guests laughed . . .

* * *

Across Sweet Valley . . .

As people – mostly women – relaxed in their bedrooms or living rooms enjoying dinner or doing their homework, cell phones began beeping with the signal that a text message had come in. While their parents and siblings – for those who had them – ignored such sounds as texting was quite the "in" thing these days, said cell phones were pulled out of pockets or pouches to be opened so the message could be read:

**BOOSTER MEETING TONIGHT AT ACADEMICIAN'S HIDEOUT 8:00 PDT**

Those who received those messages – even a certain handsome basketball star who was now in Vermont and a certain young witch at a hidden magical school in Scotland – quickly went back to work as they began imagining ways to excuse themselves from their current situations so they could make their way to the Wakefield home . . .

* * *

Somewhere in Sunnydale, nightfall . . .

"Awaken, William."

A groan. "That's NOT my name!"

A toothy smirk answered. "That was the name you were given when you were born as a mortal, William Jackson. But if you wish, we can call you 'Buzz.' Awaken."

A pair of eyes slowly opened . . .

* * *

Underneath the back yard of the Wakefield home . . .

"Regina Morrow? _Gifted_? NO WAY!"

"Way," Elizabeth said as she grinned at Caroline Pearce. "And we just found out about one – possibly three – more people who might also be in the Book of Pretty Girls. One of them helped Regina get her Gift."

The red-haired gossip – who actually got the powers of the Unstoppable Gossip when she was Gifted years ago; Caroline had chosen the battle-name _**Pettegola**_ for herself in lieu of using "Chatterbox" as her past-selves have done – gaped. "Really? Who?"

"What? You don't know?" Jessica Wakefield then demanded as she came up to join her sister and Caroline, accompanied by her best friends Lila Fowler, Cara Walker and Amy Sutton. "That's shocking coming from you, Carol! Are you sick?"

"No, I'm not," Caroline said as she gazed on the current incarnation of the Charging Belle of the Heavens with an amused twinkle in her eyes. "But like it or not, the magical energies pouring out of whatever-that-is under Sunnydale High School does affect my powers, so I don't probe people as much as I'd normally like to." Which was anytime, the others knew. "Honestly! Why can't we just go there and destroy it once and for all?"

"It's being handled by a local magical group," Elizabeth assured.

"What? American Aurors?"

"Ginny!" Elizabeth then gushed as she turned to accept Ginny Weasley's embrace. The only non-American in the Boosters of Sweet Valley, the only daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley of the magical side of Ottery Saint Catchpole in England's County Devon was currently a fifth-year student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was also the Mistress of the Eternal Flames of Chaos, _**Soulfire**_. She had received her Gift over four years before during the Chamber of Secrets incident at Hogwarts thanks to a quick-thinking Elizabeth Wakefield – who had been dragged by Jessica to Scotland to help the Cosmic Mage Guild deal with a certain thousand year-old basilisk after Hermione Granger got petrified – and an old PAA that delivered a dying Ginny to the Cave of the Future. In the wake of that, Ginny had sworn a magical Life-Debt to Elizabeth and vowed to become Mrs. Ginny Wakefield when it became practicable. That Elizabeth was also in a relationship with Todd Wilkins – who was the _**Sentinel**_; he got his Gift at the same time as the other Boosters a year previous – didn't matter to Ginny. Nor did it matter to the Weasley family save for Ginny's next-oldest brother Ronald (who hated the idea of his sister being engaged to marry a "muggle" of all things) and their mother Molly (who wanted Ginny to become Mrs. Harry Potter).

"Hey, Gin-gin!" Jessica said as Lila, Cara and Caroline all smiled. "How're things at Hoggy-warts? The idiots in the Ministry of Morons still acting like idiots?"

Ginny smiled; much that she did find Jessica to be a little selfish and not as book-smart as Elizabeth, she did love her future sister-in-law. "Unfortunately, especially after most of Tom's friends got caught and were sent to Azkaban by Harry and the others at the end of last year, the Ministry is still undergoing a big shake-up. People are still scared of the idea of 'You Know Who' coming out of the shadows to start up a Blood War again. Bellatrix Lestrange is still on the run . . . "

"What about finding Master Riddle's other soul-anchors?" Elizabeth asked.

A sigh. "Professor Dumbledore found one. Nearly got cursed to death by it, but Hermione got to him in time and healed him. Turns out that it was one of the Deathly Hallows from _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_: The Resurrection Stone." Ginny then smiled. "He sent it right away to Margo Black to have her destroy it."

The others nodded, though there was a slight chill that fell down their backs at Ginny's mentioning the current incarnation of the Herald of the Final Darkness and the most feared heel of all Yiziba. Given that the current incarnation of that line was a woman who could be Elizabeth Wakefield's own twin sister – save for black hair, grey eyes and no dimple on her cheek – the woman born Margo Black was an object of great fascination to all of the Boosters. Even if they would all wish that Margo NEVER came to Sweet Valley for any reason. "So the power of the Hallows has been destroyed," Elizabeth then stated. "There can never be a Master of Death as many have prophesised."

"Never again. If the professor remains unbeaten before he dies, the Elder Wand loses its power once and for all," Ginny stated. "And Harry's cloak . . . "

"Is essentially harmless since the younger Peverell brother did treat the spirit of Death with great respect and kindness when he finally passed from this life."

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Elizabeth beamed. "Todd!" she called out as the warm and welcoming arms of Todd Wilkins wrapped around her body. "Sorry to get you out of bed."

"Oh, I don't mind," the current incarnation of the Sentinel stated as they shared a deep kiss. "It's only eleven o'clock in Vermont, so I don't have to hit the hay for a bit. What's the meeting about, anyway? Something happen?"

"I'll explain in a moment," Elizabeth said as she took a quick look around before nodding. Everyone was here. "Can I have everyone's attention, please?" she then called out. "Could you all take your seats? Let's get started!"

People nodded as they made their way to the table in the meeting room which was right beside the Wakefield family's storage room in the main house, and then they sat down. Everyone was in civilian clothing as – for the most part – they had just walked to the secret entrance to the Academician's base off a side street in a magically-hidden bush to get to this location unseen. Todd and Ginny, of course, had teleported from Vermont and Scotland respectively via Elizabeth's mobile laboratory, the starship _Discovery_ now over the North Pole and hidden from the sensors of alien ships that often made their way to Earth thanks to the planet's powerful natural magnetic fields.

Taking her place at the head of the table, Elizabeth took a deep breath. "Thank you for coming so promptly to this meeting," she then said. "I won't be long, but I do have an announcement I would prefer to give face-to-face instead of allowing Chisame to spread it out over the Internet." As the others nodded, she then smiled. "We have a new potential member of the Boosters joining us today. Regina?"

People looked . . . and then they applauded as Regina Morrow stepped in from a side room, now dressed in the updated Manacle battle-suit. "Thanks!" she said as she waved to the others, and then accepted hugs, kisses and handshakes from some people before she took her place to Elizabeth's left; Jessica always sat to her twin's right at these meetings. With a flick of her finger over her bracelet, Regina then allowed her clothes to morph back to normal. "So what do we do in these meetings, Liz?"

"Well, most of the times, we speak about events that may interest or involve us in a more-than-normal way," Elizabeth explained. "As you now know, we do our best to keep ourselves under any sort of widespread public notice. The authorities in Washington are aware that there are those like us all over the planet; Doctor Death often serves as a silent assassin for the President. She was involved in the death of Usāmah bin Lādin last year, though it was one of the SEALs in the Naval Special Warfare Development Group that actually pulled the trigger on him in Operation: Neptune Spear." As Regina nodded – like many Americans, she had cheered when the news of the leader of al-Qā'idah being "caught and compromised to a permanent end" had broke out – the current incarnation of the Great Sage of the Circle of Thought then added, "Also, when there is news of new people being Gifted like you, we all want to know about it."

"And the reason why it happened," Winston added from his place.

"What happened?" Todd then asked. "Was Ataru involved?"

"No, Ataru is too busy trying to wean Lum from being too clingy with him," Jessica said with a mixed look of annoyance and curiosity; this was something she always did whenever one spoke of Moroboshi Ataru and his would-be "wife" from the planet Uru at the same time. "After all, Infinity collapsed the roof of a _cathedral_ on the heads of all those idiots that wanted to see Ataru married off to the girl, and then helped him get back to Yiziba to get his memories back. He disappeared from the Oni's radar for two whole months. That shook them up real bad even if Ataru got Soul Searcher to make sure people don't ask any stupid questions after he went back."

"How soon can Ataru hope to reveal what he is to Lum, Jess?" Lila asked.

A shake of the head. "Not yet. The Urusians are now getting back into patrolling their normal zones of interest. With the breakdown of the Niphentaxian Navy thanks to what we did four weeks ago, the chances are good that Ataru might be able to get rid of that bomb in the Tomobiki Ginza sometime soon. He'll move when he feels it's right."

"And make it really funny at the same time," Cara added.

Laughter from around the table; as Coyote WAS a trickster at heart, he would always want to do things to allow the maximum impact of mirth and amusement to him and those he wished to help . . . and the maximum level of pain and humiliation for those whom he wanted to hurt. "Now, the other reason I called you here tonight," Elizabeth said after people relaxed. "Does anyone know who might be the Dominatrix in this incarnation?"

"Haven't heard of one," Bill Chase stated as he squeezed the hand of his girlfriend, DeeDee Gordon. Others in the room shook their heads. "You think she's in the Valley, Liz?"

"She's most likely Molly Hecht, Bill," Elizabeth stated. "When she was taken from the Hecht home last night to the Cave to be Gifted, Regina remembered the uniform."

People blinked . . . and then eyes went wide. "Liz, what are you saying?" Lynne Henry then demanded from beside Dana Larson. "You mean to say that Regina . . .?"

"She was _**forced**_ into getting a Gift," Elizabeth announced.

Jaws dropped all around the room . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_

* * *

**WRITER'S NOTES:**

1) The opening scene of this story occurs around chapter 11 of _On The Edge_.

2) **Sweet Valley**'s location has never been directly pointed out in any of the novels; the only major hint as to its actual location in California is that it is two hours from Los Angeles and it has to be somewhere close to the seashore. I place it on **U.S. Highway 101** about 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of **Santa Barbara**, where the highway turns north away from the Pacific Coast into the Santa Ynez Mountains.

3) When I was collecting the _Sweet Valley High_ novels back in the 1980s, I was always attracted to the loner characters such as **Molly Hecht**. As people who had critiqued what happened in the series on various blog sites have often commented, I felt it grossly unfair that Molly was singled out for what had happened to Regina in _On The Edge_ as was shown in book #41, _Outcast_. This story is my way of redressing that situation.

4) Molly is described as a very short girl in comparison to the others when she is first introduced in _On The Edge_. Given her Gifting, I decided boosting her height so that she could easily look Regina in the eye seemed the right thing to do.

5) In the universe of these stories, **Tricia Martin** did not die in book #15, _Promises_. She is also another of the girls from Sweet Valley who got a Gift thanks to Moroboshi Ataru; she is **Tzaraath**, the Mistress of Plagues (she can create disease viruses and anti-bodies in her blood and spread them by touch). Her older sister **Betsy Martin**, introduced in _Promises_, is **Cimasa**, the Sculptor of the Atom (she has the ability to literally transform matter with her mind in the ultimate form of psychokinesis). Both are not seen as members of the Boosters but are friendly to them.

6) In the universe of these stories, Elizabeth and her friends are in Grade 11, which makes them peers of Moroboshi Ataru and his classmates at Tomobiki High School in Japan. Right now, Elizabeth and her peers are studying for their SAT examinations.

7) The **PAA** (**Personal Administrative Assistants**) are the Yizibajohei take-off of the **Mother Box** concept used by Jack Kirby in his _New Gods_ comic book series.

8) The **FISS** (which normally stands for "Flight, Invulnerability, Speed, Strength") concept was first mentioned to me by a reader of my Anime Add-venture storyline _The Doctor Is In_ (which is the direct inspiration of _The Saga of Coyote and the Tempest_, thus later this story). It ultimately stems from the comic book series _PS238_, which was first created by Aaron Williams in 2002. In Yizibajohei terms, it means "**Flight, Invulnerability, Super-speed and Super-strength**." People like this are normally around the same power-level as Wonder Woman and Superman are often depicted these days.

9) For _Star Trek_ fans, the aria that Winston plays in Regina's bedroom is the haunting music that normally accompanies a scene where someone is recalling something that happened a long time ago. One such example was the scene in the original series third-season episode "That Which Survives" when a computer recording of **Losira** (played by Lee Meriwether) explaining what happened to the Kalandan outpost on the clearly artificial Moon-sized planet the _Enterprise_ discovered in that story.

10) As with Sweet Valley, **Sunnydale**'s location was never clearly fixed in _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, but given that it was said that the Pacific Ocean was to both the south and west of the town, locating it near **Cojo Bay** at the west end of the Santa Barbara Channel south of Vandenburg Air Force Base seemed quite logical.

11) The event where Elizabeth Wakefield effectively saved Ginny Weasley's life was depicted originally in a flashback scene in the Anime Add-venture, episode #254026, "The First Rule of Yiziba . . . NEVER Piss Off The Academician!" I will probably reproduce it here with modifications.

12) The phrase "**caught and compromised to a permanent end**" when it came to what happened to Usāmah bin Lādin was made by World Wrestling Entertainment superstar **John Cena** at the _Extreme Rules_ pay-per-view held on 1 May 2011 after he had defeated the Miz and John Morrison for the WWE Championship. I've always liked that phrase.

* * *

**The Book of Pretty Girls_, Entry 854:_**

**_The DOMINATRIX  
_The Mistress of Pain and Pleasure**

**Generation:** 32nd  
**Age at Gifting:** 15 years, 3 months

**Real Name:** Margaret Elaine "Molly" HECHT  
**Relatives:** Cyrus Porter HECHT (_father_), Corrine Patricia HECHT (_née_ DAMOND) (_mother_), Tyrone Carl "Ty" HECHT (_younger brother_)  
**Affiliation:** Self, **Coyote** (_see Entry 0_), **Pentagram** (_see Entry 855_), **Ruby Slippers** (_see Entry 856_)  
**Base of Operations:** Town and Municipality of Sweet Valley, Santa Barbara County, State of California, United States of America  
**Alignment:** Neutral/Anti-face  
**Identity:** Molly is known to the public authorities and her friends in Sweet Valley; her being Yizibajohei is unknown to anyone outside her closest friends  
**Race/Culture of Birth:** Terran/American  
**Place of Birth:** City and County of San Francisco, State of California, United States of America  
**Gender:** Female  
**Height:** 168 cm (5' 6")  
**Weight:** 47.5 kg (105 lb)  
**Eyes:** Green  
**Hair:** Silver-blonde

**Gifts:  
_Metahuman Strength, Toughness and Physical Invulnerability:_** The Dominatrix is one of the top FISS-type metas of Yiziba. In Earth gravity when she is not aroused or in pain, she can dead-lift five thousand tonnes with one arm without any risk to the integrity of her body. Because of such power, she can resist anything up to the direct on-skin impact of either thermonuclear or anti-matter weapons up to the explosive power of 2.1 exajoules of energy (equivalent to five hundred megatonnes of TNT exploding all at once). She has the ability to survive in all forms of atmosphere (including airless space) for hours without the need to replenish her body with oxygen. As an extension of same, she cannot be poisoned by any normal means and can ingest most forms of solids or liquids save for anything based on Grade Three mesonium ("ebony meson"). Under normal circumstances, the Dominatrix is like other FISS-type metas; she normally has no defence against magical or psionic attacks beyond sheer willpower alone. However, if she is aroused or in pain and her strength boosts, her ability to throw off attacks like magical possession (the Imperius Curse) increases exponentially.  
**_Flight:_** The Dominatrix has the ability to fly at hypersonic speeds in atmosphere, just above sonic speeds while in a liquid medium like water and a quarter of the speed of light in space. She has no ability to warp herself between solar systems without aide.  
**_Adrenaline Power Boost:_** Like several other FISS-types on Yiziba, the Dominatrix has the ability to give her physical powers a massive boost of energy in times of great emotional stress. Such stress – which is normally induced by a lot of pain – allows her body to produce a massive amount of adrenaline which gives her a sort of "steroid rage" that could make her the equal of **Mustang** (_see Entry 449_) or **Wildflower** (_see Entry 1049_). Because such a rage can be quite addictive, the Dominatrix is often driven to keep the fight scene going so she doesn't lose that addictive high.  
**_Enhanced Physical Senses:_** The Dominatrix's physical senses are quite acute as an extension of her physical abilities. She can see with accuracy out to about five kilometres from her person in atmosphere. She can hear even minute sounds from dozens of metres away. She can smell very faint traces of odour up to several hours since the scent was first created. Her taste buds are quite sensitive to even minute changes of flavour. Her skin is sensitive to the touch of even minute animals such as fleas. Due to her past addictions, the Dominatrix is very good at sensing out illicit drugs. Thanks to the memories of her past-selves, the Dominatrix can discipline herself to negate the input of such sensations on her mind via a form of self-meditation.

**Personality:**

Yes, even bad girls can make it good if given the chance.

The current incarnation of Coyote made sure of that with Molly Hecht.

Sweet Valley in California – like many other towns across America – has its good and bad sides. Molly, the elder daughter of a normally separated couple whose breadwinner works mostly in San Francisco, comes from the bad side of town. A lonely girl who was forced to grow up early thanks to her having to pitch in to help keep things nice for her home and help raise her kid brother Ty, Molly would soon fall victim to the allure of street drugs as presented to him by a "cool" trader named William "Buzz" Jackson. By the time Molly herself was about to enter Sweet Valley High School, she was already addicted to crack cocaine, had tried marijuana and other forms of illicit drugs, had already surrendered her virginity to someone much older than her and was well on her way to become a teen drunkard like fellow Valley native Betsy Martin before she and her sister Tricia got the chance to become **Cimasa** and **Tzaraath** (_see Entries 609 and 610_).

A wandering visitor from another land – and another **_planet_** – changed all that with this one phrase spoken out to Molly and her friends Jan Brown and Tina Adams:

"_You really shouldn't do that to yourself. Pretty girls don't need to do that._"

Like so many others in the Valley over the previous five years, the lives of all three girls were forever changed that day.

Unlike other Valley natives who became metas, Molly teamed together with Jan (who became Pentagram) and Tina (who became Ruby Slippers); none of them know of the Boosters of Sweet Valley though they do suspect others in town have become metahumans. Dedicating themselves to helping others like them get off drugs, the three girls still acted as normal when dealing with outsiders. Deftly using specially-made synthetic drugs and drinks to simulate being stoned and drunk when it was required, the three girls kept a vigilant eye out for others who might succumb to the darker sides of such addictions and never get the chance to grow up into adulthood and live better lives for themselves.

Such was their approach to things when a girl named Regina Morrow came into their lives . . . and, thanks to heavy peer pressure and being in a situation the computer software investor's daughter had never been in before, eventually became **Manacle** (_see Annex Entry 854-A_).

Even if she traditionally was a heel in previous incarnations, the current Dominatrix – as her friends are also doing – is striving to live as good of a life as she can. Like many other "pretty girls" in the Book, Molly feels heavily indebted to Moroboshi Ataru for the incredible impact his actions towards her friends had on her life. However, Molly – while gladly admitting that Ataru is truly a "man" she could live the rest of her life with – isn't concerning herself with thoughts of starting her own family anytime soon. She still wants to finish high school and make sure that Ty is safely on his own way to making a life for himself before contemplating a move full-time to Yiziba; while she does still love her parents, Molly grates at the idea of living in a practically one-parent home with a father always off to San Francisco all week.

But when that day finally comes . . .!


	2. The Living Nuclear Reaction

The Morrow home, the next morning . . .

"_**MY LITTLE GIRL!**_"

Regina – who had managed to get back to her house well before either of her parents would have become too concerned for her – gasped on hearing her mother's gushing voice before she found herself swept up into the older woman's embrace. "MOM!" she yelped out before something within her pushed out . . . which sent poor Skye Morrow flying off her bed at least five feet to crash into a coffee table, wrecking it on impact. As soon as the just-woken teenager blinked on realising that she had just used her psychokinesis on her own mother, Regina screamed out again, "_**MOM!**_"

To Regina's surprise, Skye was laughing her heart out, even if her back was now ablaze with pain. "Oh, my God . . . my little baby . . .!" she moaned as one of the maids – Regina recognised her as Samara Wilson – came into the room . . .

. . . with a thin STICK in her hands!

_Magical!_ the part of Regina's mind that had been born on another world instantly declared as her hand snapped out towards the maid, her mind reaching out . . .

. . . which then made Samara gasp as the stick was yanked out of her hand to land in the hand of her employers' younger child! "Hey!"

"Oh, Merlin . . .!"

Regina's eyes snapped over to focus on another maid with another stick in her hand. Before she could snare that, the burly form of her father quickly got in the way. "_**REGINA, STOP . . . WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**_" Kurt screamed out as he was yanked off his feet to soar right at his daughter, who was now wide-eyed with shock.

"_**FREEZE!**_"

Kurt yelped as he literally stopped in MID-AIR not three feet from his daughter's bed. As the other maid – she also had joined the Morrows' personal staff at the same time Samara did – spun around, the smiling teenage man in the black uniform standing at the doorway winked. "Sorry! Didn't want to see people get hurt!" he declared.

Skye moaned as Samara came over to help her up. "Who . . .?" the former asked.

Regina sighed. "Mom! When did we start hiring MAGICALS?" she demanded.

Skye blinked before she sighed. "Ever since your father nearly got killed by a magical terrorist a year ago," she stated as Samara moved to brush off the back of her blouse and slacks. She then giggled. "My little girl's a _**witch**_ . . .!"

"Um, excuse me, Mrs. Morrow, you have that wrong," Winston quickly cut in. "Your daughter is now a _**metahuman**_, not a magical. As am I." He then made a motion with his hand, which allowed Kurt Morrow to get back onto his feet beside his daughter's bed. "Sorry about this. Lucky thing I had wards around this place to keep an eye on Regina as she's adjusting to having her Gift forced on her like that." He then blinked as the other maid spun her wand around to point at his face. "Um, excuse me, but could you please point that somewhere else? It's kinda rude doing that to people."

Kurt sighed. "Put it down, Gretchen," he said.

Gretchen Dwyer blinked, and then she sighed as she lowered her wand. "'Metahuman?' That's not possible! There hasn't been any confirmed metahumans since World War Two!"

"That you know of," Winston provided as he walked inside, reaching out with his hand.

The wand in Regina's hand then drifted over to Samara. As the young witch blushed on noting the newcomer was allowing her to get back her primary means of defending herself, Skye then walked over to sit down on Regina's bed by her daughter's feet. "So how did you get whatever power you have?" she asked. "And how did Regina get this power? She was magically tested when we took Samara and Gretchen on staff. She tested out as normal. Not a magical . . . and certainly not a metahuman."

"Well, that state of affairs changed as of two nights ago for your daughter, ma'am," Winston stated. "Thanks to a girl even _**I**_ didn't know was a meta: Molly Hecht."

Regina's parents blinked. "The girl that threw that party that Nicholas went to check out because of the drug rumors," Kurt stated. "What happened?"

A smirk. "That's a story, Mister Morrow."

* * *

Thirty minutes later . . .

"So you're saying that this young man in Japan that's been in the news media for the last three months because of this alien 'invasion' that the Japanese government was able to put a news blackout on for six months prior . . . was actually living on ANOTHER PLANET for TEN YEARS? ALL ALONE?" Skye recapped, displaying the righteous anger any self-respecting mother would show on hearing this type of story.

"Well, he really wasn't alone, ma'am," Winston stated. After Regina got the chance to get dressed and Winston used his powers to repair the wrecked coffee table, drinks and snacks were served so that Regina's parents and their two witch maids – both of whom were former hit-witches who had served in the American Department of Magic – could get the explanation. "For the first year he was there, the woman who brought him there lived with him. When she passed away, others of the Nameless – those are metas who don't take a line-name like 'Lightmage' for myself or 'Manacle' for your daughter – stayed with him as he adjusted to living by himself. By the time he was ten, Ataru was pretty self-sufficient when it came to living on his own. And in the meantime . . . "

"He was travelling to and from this Yiziba planet to help people like you get these 'gifts' from this Great Crystal of Power. Which is the planet's very CORE," Kurt finished. "Was he involved in making Regina into what she is now?"

"No. Ataru would have done it in a much different way than what actually happened to your daughter, sir," the Master of Techno-Magic answered. "If he had been there when Regina OD'd on that cocaine Buzz Jackson brought to Molly Hecht's party, he would have got her to one of the metahuman healers he knows of back on Yiziba among the Nameless to keep her alive and purge the poisons from her. Only THEN would he have given her the offer to get a Gift." He sighed. "The one who did this to your daughter is Molly Hecht. We now believe she's a heel-type calling herself the Dominatrix. She was probably intoxicated on some designer synthetic drugs that would have simulated her being stoned and drunk at that party but allow her to keep control over her powers."

"Why would she do that?" Skye asked.

"I think she does this because she still cares for those of her friends who are still hooked on that stuff, Mom," Regina stated. "She – and her friends; we think they're Gifted but we don't know who they are – probably does that to make it seem they're all still 'normal' to people like Justin Belson so they can help them when it's needed."

"And by their actions concerning Regina, they had it pretty nicely planned out," Winston finished for the newest member of the Boosters of Sweet Valley. "Except for the fact that they never clearly got Regina's permission to toss her into the Great Crystal. Where we all come from, that's wrong . . . even if it saved her life."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"My baby . . .!" Skye moaned as she swamped her daughter with another hug.

Regina blushed as she returned that embrace, allowing Skye to hold her close. Watching this, Kurt then sighed before he smiled. "Well, by the looks of it, Regina doesn't seem to mind becoming a superheroine too much," he mused, exchanging a smile with his precious child. "And no doubt – even if she wasn't in her full right mind – Miss Hecht clearly didn't mean any true harm. So I supposed we can just accept it and get on with our lives. And be grateful that Regina is alive and well."

"I'm glad for that, sir. But Molly still has to be told," Winston stated.

Skye pulled away from Regina. "Why?" the former asked.

A sigh. "When he was Gifted himself, Ataru never had a choice as to what sort of line whose Gift he would accept. When Mistress Ayone took him to Yiziba, she presented him with a meson crystal that bore the Gift of Tuyuki – that's Ataru's proper line-name; he calls himself 'Coyote' in this incarnation because he's Terran – within it. So it wasn't like the day all of us went to Yiziba to go to the Cave of the Future to get our own Gifts. I myself had about eight separate lines to choose from before I became Lightmage. Regina had a half-dozen herself . . . but she didn't actually say 'yes' or 'no' to getting a Gift. It was pick her up and get her to Yiziba." He snapped his fingers in emphasis. "And everyone has to the right to say 'no' before touching the Crystal. If we stopped believing _**that**_, then the basic beliefs that have driven our past-selves on Yiziba over the last two thousand years means _**nothing**_."

Regina's parents both nodded to that. "I can agree to that," Gretchen said as she put some snacks down on the table. "I'm a normal-born witch; what old-style Europeans call 'muggleborn' . . . or 'mudblood' for the magical purists out there." As Winston shook his head in clear disgust at such overt racism, the dark-haired twenty-something then said, "It would have been nice to get a choice to be either normal or magical. But people like me and Samara are born to be witches, so we can't avoid going to Salem . . . or to Seven Hills if you're a man." As Winston smirked, she gazed at him. "Are you the one who set up that magical ward off to the west of the Valley?"

"That's me."

"Why'd you do that?"

"It's called a 'hellmouth.'"

Gretchen blinked before she turned VERY pale. "Sunnydale . . .?"

A nod. "Yeah. Vamp central for North America west of the Mississippi. Much that a vampire can't really hope to turn a Yizibajohei into one thanks to the meson in our blood stream, there are a load of normal people in this town. I don't want them to become vamp food. Neither do my friends." Winston then smirked. "So where the hell were you two when Regina's family was being held hostage by that nut Denson?"

Gretchen blushed. "Believe it or not, we were undergoing refresher hit-witch training at Salem because of that ward you made," she admitted as the elder Morrows laughed and Regina gaped. "You want to know how much trouble you've caused people because of it?"

"What do they want? A _**vampire plague**_ all over southern California?"

Gretchen jolted. "Good point," Regina mused . . .

* * *

The Wakefield home, that moment . . .

"So what are you going to do, Liz?"

Elizabeth sighed as she sat at her desk. "I honestly don't know, Jess."

Jessica breathed out. After breakfast, the elder twin had gone back into her bedroom to sit down and relax; since it was a Saturday, there was no need to worry about school. The younger twin had come up to join her; their parents had been quite surprised to see Jessica up so early on a weekend. Right now, the bedroom door was closed and the special notice-me-not charms that Winston had once made for his friends were active to ensure that their parents wouldn't hear things they shouldn't. "It's wrong . . . but you have to admit, Molly had her heart in the right place," Jessica mused. "If I was in her position at that party, I might have done the same thing."

A smirk. "Yeah," Elizabeth mused as she began typing away at her computer. "I think we all would have done something similar. I don't look forward to telling Molly that she just THREW Regina into the Crystal without making her realise what was happening." She had got that confirmation from the woman who watched over the Great Crystal of Power, the _**Conservator**_, sometime before the Boosters had got together in her secret laboratory last night. "Lord knows what Ataru might do when he finds out."

Jessica winced. "Yeah . . . " She then laid down on the bed. "So what do you think Regina'll do now, Liz? You said that when she was Gifted, the Crystal fully fixed up her hearing. If a doctor sees that and knows about her being deaf before she went off to Switzerland, people are going to start asking some really hard questions."

"I'm sure those magicals who work on Mr. Morrow's staff will help keep it quiet," Elizabeth stated. "Since Winston took note of their presence, I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Morrow won't be too shocked to find out their daughter's Gifted."

The other woman nodded. "What do you think of her, anyway?"

"Who?"

"Molly."

A sigh. "She's living in a one-parent home helping raise herself and her brother. Her father spends most of his time working in San Francisco; her parents mutually separated even if they're still legally married to avoid all the idiot court battles and child support questions. No doubt, she probably first saw drugs as a way to get an emotional release from all the pressures being in that sort of situation puts on people our age, Jess. Fortunately for her, Ataru came along one day and offered her a way out."

Jessica nodded. Despite the vast emotional differences between the Wakefield twins, they did share some things. One of the big similarities was the love they held for their parents. And it was clearly earned. Ned Wakefield was a hard-working lawyer, specialising in civil cases though he studied other venues when he could spare the time to hit the law books; it was from him that Elizabeth had got her own studying habits. Alice Wakefield was an interior decorator whose work had often taken her all over the Santa Barbara Coast and even to Los Angeles from time to time. And while the parents were often away from home during the weekdays and some weekends, they did their best to make sure they were there for their daughters when they needed that sort of support.

For even if Elizabeth and Jessica were Gifted and blessed with generations of memories of multiple past lives on Yiziba over the last two millennia, they were still seventeen year-old American teenagers with their own special needs and wants.

But Molly . . .

"You think she might want out of that house eventually?" Jessica asked.

"Maybe. But if she cares enough for those of her friends who are still normal, she clearly wants to make sure her brother is able to make a life for himself first."

The younger twin nodded . . .

* * *

The Hecht home . . .

"'Morning, Dad."

Cyrus Hecht perked on hearing that tired voice, and then he grunted as he turned back to gaze on his newspaper. "I heard there was a party here on Thursday."

"Yeah," Molly said as she glanced around the kitchen, and then moved to get to work making something for herself; her mother Corrine wasn't at home at this time. No doubt, she was out with whatever new boyfriend she had got for herself recently. Personally, Molly didn't care too much for what her mother did these days, much less whoever her father was seeing on the sly when he was living and working in San Francisco. That her parents hadn't bothered to get a divorce when they separated when Molly herself was a child still caused her discomfort deep in her heart. It was glaringly obvious to her that her father really didn't care for her as much as she believed he did back when she was a child. "Nothing too much."

"The police were here," he noted.

"They heard rumours that Buzz Jackson was going to come by," she stated. "Nick Morrow was worried about his sister, so he did what rich folks do when that happens. Buzz wasn't in the house and Regina was asleep in my bedroom; she passed out after drinking one beer." A smirk as she moved to start the coffee brewer. "No harm, no foul."

Cyrus gave his daughter a hard look. Even if he didn't spend as much time with his children these days as he did years before, he could still sense it when Molly wasn't telling him the whole truth. He couldn't accuse her of lying, though; Corrine made it clear that since he wasn't there for his children 24/7, he had no right to discipline Molly or Ty if they did something wrong. What was worse, Molly clearly didn't care too much for either of her parents these days; she was clearly marking time until she had graduated from high school before she left home and made a life for herself. Where she would do that, he had no idea; he hadn't seen her take any special classes at school. What sort of skill would she have to help support herself when she left home?

"You should still stay away from those people," he noted.

"They're my friends," she said, again not looking at him. "I got clean and I'll be there for them if they need it. That's what friends and family do for each other."

He didn't react when she added "and family" to that last statement, but the point had been made. _You aren't here for me anymore, so don't bother me if I do something wrong!_ was clearly what Molly wanted to say to him, but she had the manners to not speak it aloud. Before he could muster up a comment, the doorbell rang. "Who's that?"

Without saying anything, Molly headed into the living room, glancing out through the window towards the front porch to see who was there. Quickly recognising who was standing there, she blinked before she moved to unlock and open the door. "Yeah?"

"Hey," Amy Sutton said as she gave the other girl a smile. One that didn't flash in her grey eyes, Molly was quick to notice. "You busy right now, Molly?"

"I was just having some breakfast," Molly answered, the experiences of thirty-one prior lifetimes quickly warning her that the other woman was here to instigate a fight scene. Well, that was nice; Molly wasn't in the mood to put up with her father – or mother whenever she got back home – so a fight scene would be a little cathartic.

Especially when it was with the bitch that had helped break Regina Morrow's heart.

"The football field at school," Amy then stated. "One hour."

And with that, the blonde headed off. Molly smirked, and then she closed the door. "Who was that?" Cyrus asked from the kitchen.

"Amy Sutton; she's the bitch that stole Regina Morrow's boyfriend from her," she said as she moved to watch over her coffee. "Wants me to meet with her."

"Why?"

A shrug. "Girl stuff."

He blinked, and then turned back to his newspaper . . .

* * *

Sweet Valley High School, an hour later . . .

Unlike most places of public education these days in the wake of shocking events like 9/11 and the Columbine High School shootings in 1999, the grounds of Sweet Valley High was never barred off to people who wanted to use of the football field or the baseball diamond to play with their friends even if the school building itself was locked up tighter than a drum. Sure enough, there were some people on the grounds.

Walking up the front drive, Molly was quick to spot members of the school's football team with their coach practicing scrimmage as girlfriends and other friends watched from the bleachers. As she made her way around the field, the silvery-blonde was quick to spot another familiar blonde standing near the bleachers, looking relaxed as she scanned the boys of the "Blackball Brigade" – the defensive line of the football team, the Sweet Valley Gladiators, had taken up that nickname in the wake of Robin Wilson being forbidden from joining from the local Pi Beta Alpha chapter (after she had undergone a strict weight-loss regime that transformed a chubby girl into an athletic beauty) – go through their routine. "Amy!" she called out, waving.

Amy perked on hearing Molly's voice, and then she moved to walk around the back of the bleachers. Noting that, the other girl could only smirk; she had seen Amy reach into her jeans pocket to pull out an old-style PAA. _Moving this back to Yiziba, huh?_ the current incarnation of the Mistress of Pain and Pleasure mused to herself. _Fine by me, bitch!_ With that, she pulled out her own PAA, and then keyed the meson crystal on the surface, allowing it to scan her thoughts to ascertain her intentions. Sure enough, a soft chime responded, telling Molly that her own device was now keyed into Amy's; this would allow her to follow the other girl wherever she ultimately wanted to go.

Walking around the bleachers, she was quick to see Amy standing nearby the small hut housing washrooms that could be used by anyone who didn't want to race to a nearby coffee shop to relieve themselves and the school itself was locked up. As soon as Molly was seen by the other girl, Amy turned and walked into the girl's room. As Molly herself moved to step inside, she spotted a quick flash of light emanating through the tinted window of the washroom doors. With that, she walked inside.

A second later, another flash of light indicated that another girl was now off Earth.

* * *

Three hundred light-years away . . .

As soon as she emerged onto a sandy outcropping of rock, Molly then smirked.

The Battlezone.

Perfect place to have a fight scene.

"Hecht."

She turned to look . . .

. . . and then smiled. "Sutton. Looks like Ataru got to you, too, huh?"

"He did," Amy said. She was now in the new-style battle-suits worn by many Terran-turned-Yizibajohei girls: A halter-top with a turtleneck collar that allowed the arms and shoulders to be bare, all atop form-fitting pants tucked into buccaneer boots. Given the brown shade of the uniform with black boots, black belt and the silver siege engine insignia on her upper chest, it was quite obvious who she was: The Shot-Put Siren of the South, _**Trebuchet**_. "Why the hell would he do that to a druggie like you?"

"Well, unlike certain selfish bitches who switch boyfriends at a drop of a hat, I happen to be a nice girl underneath it all," Molly said as she tapped her own wrist-bracelet, allowing her clothes to morph into her own battle-suit. Unlike most of her peers these days, the Dominatrix's battle-suit remained the same in this incarnation: Black form-fitting leather trousers with silver racing trim, white buccaneer boots, a silver belt around her waist, that under a black leather vest with stand collars that was tied down over naked cleavage with a silver chain. "After all, isn't that the way Ataru would see any of us deep down?" she asked as she tugged at her open vest before giving the other girl a knowing look. "What the fuck's this about?"

"What you did to Morrow," Amy said as she pointed at the other girl. "Guess what Liz found out when she contacted the Conservator last night?"

"What?"

The response was a large boulder that slammed into Molly, sending her off the cliff and flying through the air over a very deep valley where a river once flowed in colder and wetter times thousands of years before; the Battlezone was on the central continent in a Sahara-sized desert that was full of mountains, sand dunes and all sorts of desolate areas where people could fight each other and not risk damage to urban structures or rural pastures, not to mention harm anyone else. As Molly glanced down at the distant valley floor – which was racing up towards her – she smirked as she curled herself up into a ball, allowing the rock to press down on her as gravity took over.

The Dominatrix fell into the valley floor seconds later with the rock crushing down on her back a second after that. As her body was nearly flattened out by the blow, the massive waves of discomfort hitting her from all sides triggered a tsunami of raw adrenaline that flooded her muscles with strength, thus allowing her to flex herself . . . and shatter the boulder Trebuchet had just used to try to crush her. As Molly burst free from the small mountain of rubble she just created, she looked up . . . and smiled as another large boulder came soaring at her head. This one, she caught one-handed . . . and then, with a twirl of her body, sent it flying back up at the small speck in the sky which indicated that Amy was flying down to press her attack.

The other girl didn't react in time before the boulder clipped her hard, sending her careening into a nearby wall of rock. The impact shattered a good-sized section of limestone and granite over her head, allowing that to topple down towards the valley floor and Molly. Of course, the Mistress of Pain and Pleasure was already on the move, dodging the collapsing cliff wall as she moved to swing herself into a hover position some distance away from the dazed Amy. "You're winded already?" Molly teased. "I'm just getting warmed up, Sutton! C'mon! You wanted a fight scene, so give it to me!"

Amy smirked as she glared at the other woman. "Just like the heels you were in past lives, Hecht!" she said as she picked herself off the ledge her body had just made. "Always spoiling for a fight scene! Was that the reason you THREW Regina into the Crystal . . . WITHOUT EVEN ASKING HER IF SHE WANTED A GIFT IN THE FIRST PLACE?"

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"What the _**fuck**_ did you just say?" Molly hissed out.

"You heard me!" Amy snapped back. "Liz got it from the Conservator herself! You just 'ported Regina into the Cave and threw her right into the Crystal without stopping to ask her if that was what she wanted! OR get her to a healer to heal her!" A smirk. "I don't think _**Ataru**_'s going to be pretty impressed with you when he finds out!"

Molly blinked a couple of times as her mind rocked from those words, and then a look of pure rage crossed her face. "_**LIAR!**_" she screamed out as she lunged . . .

* * *

Nearby . . .

A flash of light allowed five people to appear on the flat plateau over the valley where two angry women were now battling it out. As both Kurt and Skye Morrow gasped on feeling the waves of dry heat slam into them once they were free of the materialiser beam that brought them down to Yiziba from the orbiting _Discovery_, the Wakefield twins and Regina – all in their battle-suits – quickly scanned around to ascertain where their schoolmates were. "Liz!" Jessica called out. "I don't see . . .!"

_**KK-KRACK!**_

A blur of blonde hair topping a brown uniform then shot up from the valley ahead of them, spiralling up into the sky. "My God!" Kurt cried out. "Who . . .?"

"AMY!" Jessica screamed out as she soared into the air after her friend.

As Elizabeth and Regina looked up to watch the current incarnation of the Charging Belle of the Heavens, _**Rampage**_, soar up to catch the Shot-Put Siren of the South, a bolt of silver-blonde over black soared up to come down hard on the plateau nearby, her whole body heaving with angry breaths as she glared murderously at the stunned Amy. An Amy that was now sporting a respectable shiner around her left eye and a cut lower lip, Elizabeth was quick to spot thanks to the magnification functions in her goggles.

Before she could do anything else, the incensed Molly then paused as her eyes focused on the two women nearby. "Liz? Regina? What are you doing HERE?" she demanded before her eyes focused on the silver mortarboard hat insignia on Elizabeth's dark blue jumpsuit top. "The Academician?" A chuckled. "Well, I'll be damned!"

A howl of wounded rage made Molly's head snap up . . .

. . . before her hand snapped up to catch Amy's fist in the palm, the sharp impact of the blow causing a sonic boom to lash out in all directions and nearly knock everyone else over; fortunately for Regina's parents, Elizabeth had thoughtfully provided self-defence force-field generators that were now fixed to their belts which could deflect the waves of ear-shattering noise and protect them from harm. As Elizabeth and Regina both staggered slightly from the blast-wave of sound that emanated from Molly catching Amy's punch with ease, the Mistress of Pain and Pleasure's other hand snapped over to grab her opponent's other arm, and then she flipped herself around.

_**KK-KRACK!**_

_**KK-KRACK!**_

_**KK-KRACK!**_

_**KK-KRACK!**_

The ground shook violently as Molly slammed Amy on her head several times, the rock at the former's feet slowly disintegrating from the harsh impacts the invulnerable body of the Shot-Put Siren was making on the once-solid limestone underneath it. As Regina winced on seeing how hard Molly was thrashing Amy, she then tensed as a flash of energy in the sky caught her attention. Looking up, she then gaped as a woman with dark brown hair soared down to come to a hover mode close to Molly, her hand reaching out.

Molly then screamed out as she and Amy were yanked apart as if by some invisible hand, and then the former found herself floating into the air as the latter collapsed into a semi-conscious heap on the ground. "HEY!" Molly screamed out before she turned to look, and then she snarled. "_**KASUGA!**_ PUT ME DOWN, YOU AIRHEAD! I'M NOT . . .!"

A wave of the hand. "Ah, fuhgedaboutit!"

Molly then found herself unable to speak at all. "Ayumu?" Elizabeth called out to the newcomer from Tōkyō's Nakano Ward as Jessica came down to a landing close to the moaning Amy to help her back up. "What are YOU doing here?"

"Oh, I just got kinda curious as to what'cha doin' bringin' two _normals_ here to Yiziba, Liz!" Kasuga Ayumu said in her accented English with its weird mix of New York Brooklyn and southern Texas. As she then floated down with the struggling Molly drifting down with her, the current incarnation of the Goddess Who Walks Amongst Men, _**Infinity**_, then gazed on the bruised and bleeding Amy. "Oh, man! Molly, what got you so mad at Amy?"

Molly pointed at her mouth as she seemed to say something with no noise coming out from between her lips. Ayumu then blinked before she waved her fingers to allow the other woman to speak. "Thank you!" the silver-blonde snarled as she landed close to the other girl before she pointed at Amy. "This dumb bimbo – after she had the fuckin' audacity to break Regina's heart by stealin' her boyfriend from her – has the damned guts to accuse ME of THROWING Regina into the Crystal without even ASKING her if she wanted a Gift or not! I WOULDN'T DO THAT SORT OF THING, ŌSAKA! YOU KNOW THAT!"

"Um, Molly . . . "

"_What_?" Molly snarled as she glared at Elizabeth.

The Great Sage of the Circle of Thought winced on sensing that huntsman's look arc her way, and then she sighed. "You _did_ do that, Molly," she said. "I confirmed it with the Conservator herself. You just 'ported into the Cave and . . .!"

"_**NO! I WOULDN'T DO THAT, LIZ! DO YOU THINK AFTER ALL ATARU WENT THROUGH, I'D DO SOMETHING LIKE **_**THAT**_** TO SOMEONE ELSE? EVEN IF SHE WAS **_**DYING**_** ON ME?**_"

The elder Morrows and Regina winced on hearing that. Hearing that, Ayumu blinked before she gazed on Molly. "You nearly killed someone, Molly?" the Wakayama-born reality-warper then asked. "What happened? You're even more in control over yourself than Margo normally is!" She then blinked before she gazed at Regina, her brown-grey eyes then glowing slightly as the Goddess Who Walks Amongst Men's meta-sight clicked in to allow her to take a deep look at the other girl. After a moment, she moaned. "Oh, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan . . .!" she groaned. "Ataru's gonna FREAK when he hears about this!"

Molly blinked – as it was normally not in Ayumu's nature to lie, the stark realisation that Elizabeth had been telling her the truth slammed into her like an avalanche – before her eyes teared. "No . . . I wouldn't do that, Ayumu . . .!"

"You didn't _consciously_ do that, Molly."

She looked at Elizabeth as the latter approached her. "The Conservator was quick to sense how intoxicated you were two nights ago," she said as she reached up to gently squeeze the other girl's shoulder. "You take some sort of synthetic stimulants to help you appear more normal to your friends, right? Something based on what my past-selves made?" As Molly shakily nodded her head, Elizabeth sighed. "You have a sample?"

Molly reached into a pouch on her belt to pull out a vial of a dark reddish liquid. Elizabeth took that, and then drew out her personal omni-scanner to pass the sensor head over the vial. A moment later, as the readings flashed in the elder Wakefield twin's goggles, she winced. "Oh, my God . . . who on Earth MADE this kludge anyway?"

As Kurt grinned on hearing the classical computing term for a jury-rigged construct, Molly breathed out. "Jan did it." As Elizabeth gazed at her, the silver-blonde smirked. "She's Pentacle. Tina's Ruby Slippers. Both Shadow Realm girls."

Elizabeth nodded. "Well, I will admit that Jan did a good job modifying this to fit your power profile. A little TOO good, I have to note. You use this to keep your powers under wraps while still staying somewhat in control over yourself when you're with your friends, right?" As Molly nodded, Elizabeth smirked. "Well, if I'm right about this, it clearly hazed up your thinking when it came to determining what to do in case someone OD'd at one of your parties. Like Regina did on Thursday, right?"

Molly blinked several times before she sank down to her knees. "No . . .!"

As she began to cry, Regina immediately moved over to gently draw the other woman into her arms. Ayumu then sighed. "Here. Let's go get some tea."

And with a snap of her fingers, they vanished from the Battlezone . . .

* * *

Thousands of kilometres to the north-northwest, minutes later . . .

"Um, Liz . . . "

"Yes, Mrs. Morrow?"

"Does your friend allow you to just WALK into his house like this?"

Elizabeth smiled as she moved to pass a portable healing probe over Amy's bruised eye. "You've no doubt read all the stories about all the times Lum's done something to violate Ataru's privacy, right? Not to mention her so-called 'Stormtroopers' and the others in Tomobiki who like her so much." As Skye nodded, she waved around the rustic cabin everyone had been teleported into by Ayumu. "All of us who got our Gifts thanks to Ataru sooner or later come to this place to visit. Either before or after we go to the Cave to get our Gifts. As far as he's concerned, we have every right to visit here when we need to. Just don't bother with fight scenes, of course. He'd rather like his home to stay intact. After all, it's all he really has in the long term."

Skye nodded as she moved to look around the living room of the cabin where the current incarnation of the Trickster of the Show had lived for over nine years before he had been trapped in Tomobiki . . . though he would return to reside here as soon as it was safe and practicable for the people in Tomobiki, not to mention a certain Oni warlord's daughter. Much that Skye had been quick to notice the differences in decor and basic construction that indicated this was a place that could never have been built on Earth – not that the bluish-white sun in the southern sky didn't do enough to indicate she was on another PLANET – it was a very nice and cozy place to live. Certainly no bachelor pad like she had seen when she was younger; despite Ayone Katabarbe's actions when it came to forcing the Gift of Tuyuki on an unsuspecting Ataru, she had been a very good surrogate mother to him. "So how did this man seek all of you out?" Kurt asked as he took a chance to look around, noting there was nothing visible which could indicate how Moroboshi Ataru could have done what he was reported to have done.

"There's a scrying pool in the back yard," Jessica said as she thumbed up to the north. "A small vein of the Great Crystal leads up to the spring which provides the water for the pool up the mountain from here. Ever since he got his own Gift and decided to go on his quest to find pretty girls like all of us, he's used his own reality-warping powers and his telepathy to turn the pool into a special sensor mechanism that can pick out potential candidates to be brought here to Yiziba. Once he found someone, he used one of the old PAAs Liz's past-selves made to teleport to Earth to go meet the girl. When he came after Liz and me, though, he tripped on a rock and twisted his ankle."

"And when Jess was busy using her first aid lessons to help the 'nice boy' get his feet straightened around, I accidentally touched the PAA and teleported us all back here," Elizabeth added, which made the Morrows all laugh in amusement. "After we got the explanation as to what Ataru was doing and what he hoped we'd say 'yes' to, we went back to the Valley. Jess told all her friends like Lila and Mandy, I told people like Amy, Todd, Winston and Maria . . . and a week later, when Ataru came back . . . "

"We all said 'yes,'" the three Boosters present chanted as one.

Another outburst of laughter from the Morrows. "So when did you become Infinity?" Regina then asked as she waved at Ayumu, who relaxed on a sofa nearby.

"Oh, I'm the first one in the Book," the Kansai-born reality-warper announced.

"'The Book?'" Kurt and Skye asked.

"The Book of Pretty Girls!" Jessica, Ayumu and a groaning Amy all chanted.

More laughter. "So what does he write in it?" Kurt asked.

"It's just a general listing of each of us he's helped," Elizabeth explained. "Nothing too private or anything like that. Any person that we help in turn would be listed in the Annex to the Book. Todd Wilkins, Bill Chase and Winston Egbert are listed there."

"There are two boys who are in the main list," Jessica added.

"Who?" Regina demanded.

"Saotome Ranma and Harry Potter," Jessica explained.

Kurt and Skye gaped. "Harry? He's that famous English wizard who was said to have killed that dark lord that went crazy in England years ago!" the former said.

"Isn't Ranma that famous martial artist from some place in Tōkyō?" the latter asked.

"The same," Elizabeth stated. "Both are child abuse victims; Ataru has NO tolerance for that sort of thing, so he gladly broke his own rule about only helping girls when he went to help them get their own Gifts. Hence, their places in the Book."

"What about girls like Enid?" Regina asked. "She wasn't at the meeting last night."

"Enid – among others – are in the 'Pretty Girls to be Helped' list in the Book, Regina," Elizabeth said as Jessica and Amy both scowled on hearing the elder Wakefield twin mention Enid Rollins, whom both of them despised a lot. "Not Gifted – not yet – but will be helped if opportunity presents itself. Lynne Henry and Robin Wilson got their Gifts after spending some time on that list when Ataru got his memories back."

"Thanks to Caroline Pearce," Jessica added.

"So if Regina's put into the Book, she'll be listed as someone Molly helped, right?" Kurt then asked. "Despite some of the questionable ethics of this?"

"Yes," Elizabeth answered. Molly was currently asleep in the bedroom, having totally broken down on coming to Ataru's home. "As soon as I get the chance, I'll approach Jan and ask her what she did to modify what my past-self made in that drug Molly likes to use. If Molly and her friends intend to keep acting like they're normally seen by their group at school and elsewhere as doing, I want to make sure that no other accident like what just happened to Regina happens again. We were lucky this time."

"Luck doesn't last forever," Jessica noted . . .

* * *

Back on Earth in Sweet Valley, approaching lunchtime . . .

The rather loud motorcycle engines were enough to alert people something was up.

As the eyes of people now shopping on Main Street – the section of U.S. Highway 101 that went through the centre of town – turned to look, they gazed upon two stylish Harley-Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod Specials then coming up the street from the direction of the harbour and Santa Barbara Channel. The lead of the pair was almost jet-black overall; the normal silver metal on the machine was hued a dark gunmetal grey. Said machine had a classic pirate's skull-and-crossbones insignia on the gas tank aft of the handlebars. The rider herself – a young woman, as was her companion – was dressed properly in black motorcyclist leathers with the Stars and Stripes on her sleeves, a black helmet covering her face even if a small cascade of raven-black hair spilled out from the back of the head-cover. Gloves and zip-up boots finished the ensemble.

The other machine had the "Southern Cross" battle flag of the Confederate States of America on its gas tank; the radio aerial mounted aft of the driver's seat sported a replica of the battle flag of the 47th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment. While some of the citizens on the streets – even white folks – frowned at the sight of something that was clearly NOT politically correct in this day and age, people could also see that the rider was wearing the symbol of the United Daughters of the Confederacy on the back of her jacket, the "Stars and Bars" flag in the middle of the wreath over an intertwined "UDC" in gold above the year-dates of the War Between the States. She had a black helmet over her head and black hair also spilled out from behind her neck.

As soon as both machines came parallel to the front doors of the Dairi Burger, one of the most popular hangouts for the high school crowd in the valley, the lead rider turned to take up a clear parking spot beside a white Mercedes 550SL. As the other machine came to a stop beside it, both riders then dismounted – moving in almost perfect unison, many of the onlookers were quick to note – and then slipped off their helmets to reveal perfectly-shaped faces for girls in their late teens, framed with wavy raven-black hair. As those who attended Sweet Valley High seeing this were quick to realise these two riders were twin sisters like the well-known Wakefield twins, the unreality of the moment took a further step into the Twilight Zone as the new arrivals slipped off their sunglasses to reveal a matching set of stormy grey eyes.

"Oh, my GOD . . .!"

The rider who came on the motorcycle with the skull-and-crossbones on the gas tank didn't react on hearing the croaked shout from the daughter of Sweet Valley's second-richest family. "Lila. Cara," she said in a voice that was a weird mix of flat New York with the lilt of a belle from the Deep South. "How are you two?"

She and her sister turned to gaze on a pair of very white-faced girls. "M-m-Margo. N-n-Nora," Lila Fowler said, trying not to sputter at the thought of THEM being in Sweet Valley of all places. "Um . . . wh-what are you two doing here . . .?"

"Hey, Doc! Catch!"

Margo Black turned . . . and effortlessly caught the bottle of Gatorade that had been tossed her way by a smirking man who had just walked across the street from the local post office. As she grinned in amusement – and both Lila and Cara Walker gaped in shock on noting that WINSTON EGBERT of all people was actually FRIENDLY with the current incarnation of the Archangel of Mortality herself, _**Doctor Death**_ – as she opened the sports drink to take a deep pull, Winston then pulled out another bottle of Gatorade to give to Margo's twin sister, Nora Chapelle. "Welcome to Sweet Valley, Miss Nora," he said with a very good Texas twang in his voice, that making the current incarnation of the Living Dynamo of Energy, _**Accretor**_, giggle as she took the offered bottle, and then she allowed him to kiss her hand. "I trust it was a pleasant trip."

"Oh, indeed it was, Mister Egbert," Nora stated; unlike her twin, her accident was pure Georgia Southern belle. "There were the rude fools and those who normally allow their glands to do their thinking for them, but Margo here – despite her near-total corruption by all those filthy Yankees my late stepmother forced her to endure for ten years before our mutual friend from Japan corrected the issue – was more than capable of dealing with the miscreants. The weather was nice for the whole journey."

"Wonderful! So, would you two care to sample the Dairi Burger?" Winston asked.

Margo hummed. "Business before pleasure, unfortunately," she then stated before leaning close to whisper to him in Yizibajohei, "«There are people who are rather upset at you thanks to this ward you put up to the west of town.»"

He smirked. "Vampires," he whispered in English.

She blinked. "Vampires?"

"A whole _hellmouth_'s worth of them." A wink. "Save for ONE good one!"

A lethal smile. "Do tell me more," Margo purred like a lioness about to have a feast.

As Winston began, Lila and Cara exchanged concerned looks . . .

_**To be continued . . .**_

* * *

**WRITER'S NOTES:**

1) The **Salem Witches' Institute** (in the city of the same name in Massachusetts) was first mentioned in _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_. Its all-men's equivalent, which I mentioned in _The Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone_, is the **Seven Hills Wizards' Academy**, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains close to Lynchburg in Virginia.

2) The person who held Regina and her family hostage that Winston mentioned, **Phil Denson**, appeared in novel #26, _Hostage!_

3) Given the emphasis by the ghost-writers in the Sweet Valley High series towards making the Wakefields the "model" American family, that **Ned Wakefield** was depicted as being able to practice various forms of law shouldn't really come as a surprise to fans of the series. I played up on that particular continuity problem by stating that Ned is a lawyer that specialises in civil cases, but does take interests in other types of legal practices whenever business doesn't take his attention away from work or family.

4) In the novel _Outcast_, the behaviour of Molly's parents towards her was – in my eyes – simple child abuse. For those who remember the story, Mr. Hecht (the given names to Molly's parents are my invention as such was never mentioned in the story) actually ORDERS Molly to go to school and take all the abuse that all her classmates were ready to heap over her in the wake of Regina's death. That Molly's parents didn't care for her own feelings is obvious; thus – given the continuity of this story, where Molly meets a man who clearly had RAISED HIMSELF since he was SIX YEARS OLD – her own attitudes towards her parents is evolving in the direction that is depicted here.

5) The nickname for the defensive line of the **Sweet Valley Gladiators** football team was first coined in novel #4, _Power Play_.

6) For those who don't know, a **mortarboard hat** is the flat-topped cap worn by university students when they are in formal gowns at graduation time.

7) **Kasuga Ayumu**'s accent in English as depicted here is a joke based on how someone with an Ōsaka accent in Japanese anime and manga is depicted as in English-translated manga and dubbed anime. In the _AzuDai_ manga, Ayumu is depicted as having a Brooklyn-like sound. In the _AzuDai_ anime, Ayumu's voice actress used a southern Texas accent. And fans of the _AzuDai_ manga should know the origins of the "**fuhgedaboutit**" joke.

8) The term **kludge** (derived from the German adjective _klug_, meaning "smart" or "witty") is said to have been first coined by Jackson W. Granholm's 1962 article "How to Design a Kludge," which first appeared in the computer magazine _Datamation_. I first learned of the term after reading Tom Clancy's _The Hunt For Red October_ in 1989.

9) The flag most popularly associated with the **Confederate States of America** these days (as depicted on the roof of the **General Lee** in _The Dukes of Hazzard_) is actually a modernised variation of the second Confederate Navy jack (the flag flown at the bow of a ship) that was in service from 1863-65. The proper "battle flag" of Confederate States army regiments (as seen in movies like _Gettysburg_) was a square red flag with a white-trimmed dark blue saltire cross with thirteen white stars embossed on it (three on each arm and one in the middle). Typically, line regiments of the Confederacy emblazoned their battle honours and regimental titles on the red fields in gold. The **Stars and Bars** flag was the first national ensign of the Confederacy, which was flown from 1861-63. The flag depicted on the symbol of the **United Daughters of the Confederacy** has a seven-star Stars and Bars flag on it; the final version of the Stars and Bars depicted thirteen stars in the blue canton (this represented the eleven states that formally seceded from the Union in 1860 and 1861, plus Kentucky and Missouri).

10) The **47th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment** was one of over sixty infantry battalions raised in the Peach State to fight on the Confederate side in the American Civil War. First raised in June 1861, the Regiment fought mostly in the Western Theatre of the war, being involved in the defence of Charleston in South Carolina (June 1862), the siege of Jackson in Mississippi (July 1863), fighting in the Chattanooga and Atlanta Campaigns throughout the rest of 1863 and leading into the summer of 1864, defended Savannah (where Company A of the Regiment was founded as the **Mitchell Volunteer Guards**) and then participated in the Carolinas Campaign of 1865. The Regiment surrendered to Major General William T. Sherman's forces on 26 April 1865.

* * *

**The Book of Pretty Girls_, Entry 533:_**

**_CYCLOTRON_  
The Living Nuclear Reaction**

**Generation:** 29th  
**Age at Gifting:** 11 years, 4 months

**Real Name:** Lila Rose FOWLER  
**Relatives:** George Thomas FOWLER (_father_), Grace Maria FOWLER (_née_ DORET) (_mother_)  
**Affiliation:** Self, the Boosters of Sweet Valley, **Coyote** (_see Entry 0_)  
**Base of Operations:** Town and Municipality of Sweet Valley, Santa Barbara County, State of California, United States of America  
**Alignment:** Face/Neutral  
**Identity:** On Yiziba, publicly known; on Earth, Lila is very well known thanks to her father and his wealth, but her being Yizibajohei is unknown to all save her friends.  
**Race/Culture of Birth:** Terran/American  
**Place of Birth:** Town and Municipality of Sweet Valley, Santa Barbara County, State of California, United States of America  
**Gender:** Female  
**Height:** 170 cm (5' 7")  
**Weight:** 49.8 kg (110 lb)  
**Eyes:** Brown  
**Hair:** Brown

**Gifts:  
_Thermonuclear Energy Control and Projection:_** Cyclotron's body – thanks to her being able to absorb any form of light and allow a hyper-charged synergic reaction in each of her cells – can produce massive levels of energy that can be projected from any area of her skin; she normally fires such energy through her hands as a type of nuclear ki blast or via her eyes as a precision form of a cutting beam. The total energy she can fire out at any one time is equal to 2.1 exajoules of energy (equivalent to 500 megatons of TNT going off at once), though unleashing such levels of energy would exhaust her personal stores quite quickly. Her body automatically replenishes any energy she fires off from her person in a sort of "topping off" manoeuvre which ensures she can quickly get back into the fight scene if she is needed.  
**_Energy Attack Invulnerability:_** Due to her powers, Cyclotron can resist most known forms of pure-energy attack, regardless of type, unleashed on her person. The maximum level of invulnerability she would possess in this sort of situation theoretically would be up to 2.1 exajoules of energy. Attacks based on magic or psionics when used in a pure-kinetic sense without a physical element to it would not affect Cyclotron. If the attack is physical, though – such as a rifle bullet – the kinetic energy of the attack would not hurt her even if the actual damage to her body would. In this situation, Cyclotron can be wounded or killed, but the damage to her body would be minimised to the actual point of impact upon her body.  
**_Flight:_** Cyclotron has the ability to fly at hypersonic speeds in atmosphere. Unlike others, she cannot survive in hostile environments without some sort of life-support.  
**_Energy Radiation Senses:_** As an extension of her energy powers, Cyclotron has the ability to sense out any form of energy by the "feel" of the radiation touching her skin. She could, with ease, tell what sort of energy is coming her way regardless of the distance involved. With concentration, she could detect any form of wireless communication – as such is a form of radiation – with this type of feel; she normally uses her eardrums to "listen" in to such broadcasts with the ease a radio can pick up a radio signal. To ensure she is not bombarded by too much sensory data, Cyclotron uses a strict form of self-discipline to ensure she can rest her mind when needed.

**Personality:**

Sweet Valley's wealthiest – and the most explosively powerful – metahuman resident!

And she will gladly let you know it every which way possible!

Lila Fowler is, in many ways, your atypical super-rich girl. The only daughter of a wealthy computer magnate, she was born literally with a silver spoon in her mouth, lives in a Spanish-style mansion overlooking the ocean, has servants willing to come to her aide whenever she needs it and gladly boasts of all the times she could jet off to all the exciting places she – and only she amongst her peers – could go to virtually at a whim. To others such as her best friend/rival Jessica Wakefield (**Rampage**_, see Entry 532_), Lila literally has it all . . . and she flaunts it any way possible.

Of course, there's also the _downside_ of such a life.

Lila is also the only child of a single-parent home; due to his drive to make it rich, George effectively wrecked the life of Lila's mother Grace . . . and then literally ripped their newborn daughter from her mother's arms. And while George himself has often regretted such actions – Grace was the daughter of a family that the Fowlers never got along with – he has done his best to be a good father for Lila despite the odd problems such as the one time Lila began to shoplift as a way of getting her father's attention . . . even when she had a personal allowance that would allow her to buy the whole **_wardrobes_** of five of her schoolmates!

Which makes her becoming Cyclotron all the more curious.

On meeting the current Coyote for the first time, Lila was not impressed. Oh, yes, he was living on a planet three hundred light-years away and was on a quest to get as many pretty girls Gifted as quickly as possible to protect Earth. While that was certainly exciting – despite her wealth, Lila WAS eleven years old at the time she met Moroboshi Ataru – certain facts of life on Yiziba nearly made her say "no." The concept of money had faded out of existence on Yiziba two thousand years ago. There was no social hierarchy anywhere on the planet. And Ataru's living alone in a rustic cabin in the mountains north of Habitation One didn't appeal to a girl like Lila, who was used to big cities and people cleaning up after her. It was only peer pressure from people such as Jessica Wakefield that convinced Lila to go to Yiziba and take a Gift.

She didn't regret THAT . . . even if she didn't gain the invulnerability of people such as Rampage, the ability to warp reality like **Infinity** (_see Entry 1_), the powerful magical skills of **Lightmage** (_see Annex Entry 532-A_), the psionic powers of **Pettegola** (_see Entry 541_) or the unbelievable intelligence of the **Academician** (_see Entry 531_).

After all, when you have the power to unleash a virtual ATOMIC BOMB BLAST out of your very own hands, all the other neat powers one could have really don't matter anymore.

Or does it . . .?

Even if she is snobbish, even if she looks down on those less wealthy than she, even if she really can't see herself living a life like others do . . . Lila often wonders.

"_Could I still be me . . .?_"


End file.
